Treating grain for milling.



jnmrnn STATES PATENT orrion.

WILLIAM HEWITT PliUL, or. BIRKENHEAD, ENGLAND.

TREATING Ge m FOR, mums.

Specification of Lettersjeltent. Application filed iune 1, ieoeijfsensl Naeeaico.

- Patented July 27, 1909.

To all. whom it may concern: r 1 a l Be itknown that I, W ILLI'AM HEWITT PAUL, subject of the King ofGreat, Britain, residing at Birkenhead, in'the county of Cl1ester,'in the Kingdom of England, miller,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Treating Gram for-Milling,

"for which application has been made in Great Britain, No. 24,129, dated the 31st of October, 1907. i 1 4 In the art of milling, it is a desideratum to manufacture (from a given quantity of gram), the greatest amount of flour of the highestand best quality at the least pos'sible cost. By the new process of heating and conditionin grain for milling, forming the sub ect of t e present invention to important im rovements, over t ose at present in use.- ll the experiments I have made, have demonstrated that'the grain 'is in a better condition 01- milling atter the ,heating treatment than before and that there is a change in the resulting flour which .1s a decided improvement. .25

In carrying the invention: into efiect, process consists broadly-speaking oi ,first washing the grain, and allowing it to stand for some time. This is not only for'the purpose of cleaning, but to allow a certain amount of moisture to be absorbed by the grain. The grain is then subjected to a suitof conditioning able temperature and allowed to stand at that temperature for a certain len th of time, during which the desirable canges take place. I

My experiments were carried. out in -the following way, using wheat as the grain. The wheat .was cleaned and washed by the methods usuallyadopted inmilling. The

damp Wheat was then allowed to stand in bulk in a silo for six hours, during which time the moisture penetrated the outer cover ings of the wheat berry sufliciently for the purpose of subsequent treatment. The wheat was then subjected to the improved process and raised .to a temperature of 100 F.-- robably some changes occur at'temperaturesvarymg say from 80 F. to

120 R, but 100?,EJ-has' proved to give the best result .in practice.) The. temperature of the wheat must beraised by a dry heat, or

by live steam in s'ucha waif that"exeessive moisture does not penetrate-into the interior,

f the wh at berry, a condition which is not desired. The actual method adopted by me to bring about. the desired'increase of temla claim .broughtI about moreTeadi'lyfand, more ecojacketed cylinder, inclosmg' a revolving or the kind of wheat,-if it be a hard 01 soft variet Q After standing in the silo the desired engtl ofitime thewheat is'ready for milling in the nsual'w y. The natureof the changes in theflouiabrought about by the conditioning of the wheat by this heating process are not at presentexactly known, but it is thought that they are, in all probability, due to the action oif-l either orgamo ferments, or possibly bacteria, or possibly a combination of the samefactlng on one or ing in slight chemical changes which havea heat and moisture providing suitable conditions for the development of suchchanges. The nature of the changes so far as the 1m- 'roved physical condition of the wheat for milling is concerned, are more easily ex- .plained. They are" undoubtedlydue to a toughening of the outer coats or bran, and the .mellowing and tempering of the other 'ard and soft) which go to make up the ing the time the wheat is standing ln'the silo.

(this process are broadly speaking divided into two kinds :(a) A well-conditioned, mellowed wheat easy togrind. (b) An 1mproved quality of the flour from suchtemther enumerated as follows z-- y (a) 1. The wheat, after heat ng and standing, or. in other words, after condltionmg, 1s

nomically" by other methods of dry heating) 'Was by passing the wheat through a' steam worm, which carried the wheat along, the in beneficial action on the flour, the additional blend of .wheat, the additional heat and moisture bringing about these changes dur-i w s; (but whit}; that probably be the amount (if-moisture thewhe'at contains,

more of the constituents of the flour, result- 1parts of the various kinds of wheat (both The advantages and results obtained for i pered wheat. The advantages maybe furfound to have changed physically."- 2.- The.

outer coverings of the wheat berry, which it is desirable to remove in the process of milling, are tougher, while the endosperm or floury part of the berry is more friable and open. 3. Less power is required to mill such wheat, and the separation of branny. particles' and other matters, it is desirable to remove from the various stocks, is more easily effected. 4. The semolina is whiter, brighter and cleaner. 5. There is a greater percent age of broad bran.

(b) 1. The flour is whiter, a parently some bleaching action takes place uring the treatment. 2. The flour is purer, owin toa better separation ot the, or absence 0 m1- .nute particles of bran and germ. 3. The

water-absorption power of the flour is increased or in other words, the flour takes up more water in making into dough, hence an increase in the number of loaves per sack of flour. 4. The bread is whiter, has a better bloom, and a better flavored loaf ismade from the flour. 7 b

I declare that what I claim is 1. The process of conditioning grain which consists in first washing with water, second,

allowing the damp wheat to stand in bulk for about six to twelve hours, then raising it to a temperature of about 100' degrees Fahn,

and lastly, allowing itto stand in bulk in this state for about six hours, whereby the bran may be more readily separated from the "remainder of the grain.

2. The process of conditioning grain, which consists in letting-it stand in bulk in a moist condition for about six to twelve hours, then heating it to about 100 degrees Fahr. by means of dry heat, and lastly letting it stand again in bulk for about six hours, whereby the bran may be more readily separated from the remainder of the sin. 3. The process of conditioning ain, which consists in moistening it, lettin it stand for about six to twelve hours in bu k, then causing it to pass over heated surfaces with stirring till it arrives at a uniform heat of about 100 degrees Fahn, and then allowing it to stand in bulk for about six hours, whereby the bran may be more readily separated from the remainder of the grain.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 19th day of May 1908, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses."

WILLIAM HEWITT PAUL. 

